Bean, Contender Bush

Short Description

Great bean flavor.

Full Description

Contender is one of the best bush beans ever. It is a heavy cropper with round-oval pods and a strong, distinctive flavor. It's an early bean that does well under short seasons and cool conditions, but it will thrive in hot weather too.

Type
Some flowers and vegetables fall into subcategories that may define how they grow (such as pole or bush), what they are used for (such as slicing tomatoes or shelling peas), flower type, or other designations that will help you select the type of a class of plant that you are looking for.

Bush Snap

Days To Maturity
The average number of days from when the plant is actively growing in the garden to the expected time of harvest.

55 days

Fruit Size
The average size of the fruit produced by this product.

5-6 inches

Sun
The amount of sunlight this product needs daily in order to perform well in the garden. Full sun means 6 hours of direct sun per day; partial sun means 2-4 hours of direct sun per day; shade means little or no direct sun.

How to Sow

Because beans are members of the legume family of plants, they can benefit from an application of a soil inoculant designed for beans and peas, prior to planting. The inoculant will enable the plants to take nitrogen from the air to use as fertilizer, which can increase crop yield and quality.

Sow in average soil in a sunny location after danger of frost and soil has warmed, from spring to early summer. Sow after the soil has warmed, as seeds may rot in cooler soils.

How to Grow

In dry weather, keep soil well-watered. Plants need about 1 inch of rain per week during the growing season. Use a rain gauge to check to see if you need to add water. It’s best to water with a drip or trickle system that delivers water at low pressure at the soil level. If you water with overhead sprinklers, water early in the day so the foliage has time to dry off before evening, to minimize disease problems. Keep the soil moist but not saturated.

Cultivate or mulch to keep weed-free, but do not work or handle plants when leaves are wet.

Beans as companion plants: Planted closely in rows spaced around two feet, bush bean plants blend well with like-sized warm-season vegetables such as peppers, tomatoes and eggplants. Between towers of pole bean plants, planting vines such as squash can help keep weeds down. Pole beans can help protect cool-season vegetables such as spinach and lettuces, as the weather warms.

Harvest and Preserving Tips

For fresh use, pick pods as soon as well-filled out with peas

For dried bean use, harvest in about 80 days, when the pods start to dry on the plant.

To Dry Beans: Allow the beans to stay on the plants until they are partially dry. Then pull up the plants and hang them in a warm, dry place with good air circulation until the pods and seeds are thoroughly dry. Shell the beans and save the pods and plants for composting.

Product Details

Type

Bush Snap

Days To Maturity

55 days

Fruit Size

5-6 inches

Sun

Full Sun

Spread

18-30 inches

Height

18-30 inches

Sow Method

Direct Sow

Planting Time

Spring, Summer

Sow Time

After Last Frost

Thin

6 inches

Reviews

Bean, Contender Bush is rated
4.6 out of
5 by
10.

Rated 4 out of
5 by
MontessoriMom from
quick producerI ordered these for my kids school garden. planted in August and kids picked first beans in early October. I did use the bean booster when we planted, and the plants almost jumped out of the ground - so fast! lots of beans per plant; and decent pod size. hopefully they keep producing through the season. average daytime fall temp here in Atlanta is still over 80 degrees. my only complaint: very short bushes; I hoped they would be taller plants. maybe we can prop them up next time...

Date published: 2016-10-11

Rated 5 out of
5 by
lucky7s from
delicious beansI grew these 3 years now and have only gotten to cook them twice. I ate them right off the plant. My mailman likes them too.

Date published: 2015-05-17

Rated 5 out of
5 by
Wmsdan from
Super ProducerPlanted Heavy Hitters a little too early this spring and about half did not germinate. So, on a friends recommendation, I filled in with Contender seeds which all germinated and produced beans before the older plants were ready to harvest. The Contender beans out produced the other bush beans as well as the pole beans all summer. In the pot it was impossible to pick out the Contenders, but planting these beans allowed us enough beans to can this summer.
It is always good to have variety in your garden and the Contender will always be one or more of my bean rows.

Date published: 2014-09-17

Rated 5 out of
5 by
Wryter from
Productive in the desertContender is highly productive and has great flavor. From a single, eight foot row in my raised bed garden I've harvested more than two pounds of beans so far, and it's only August 14. It, along with Blue Lake 274 is rapidly becoming my favorite green beans.
Kingman, AZ gets less than 8" rainfall per year, sits at 3500' and summertime highs are mostly above 100 with 109 or higher not uncommon. This is far from ideal bean growing circumstances and these Contenders have done great and have earned a permanent spot in my garden. Next year I'll plant more and start canning them.

Date published: 2014-08-15

Rated 5 out of
5 by
Kathy777 from
Contender Beans, BushThese are great beans, they grow fast, long and full. Very good tasting too.

Date published: 2013-02-01

Rated 5 out of
5 by
BackyardFarmerEngineer from
Excellent bean varietyThe contender is so far my favorite variety of bush bean. We've had good results out of this variety for the last five summers that we've worked our garden here in Connecticut. That's included hot, dry summers and wet cool summers. All around good bean, good fresh, and good pressure-canned and eaten later as well.

Date published: 2012-09-03

Rated 5 out of
5 by
NanookoftheNorth from
Great beansLast year I purchased these beans for the first time for Up State New York and no I don't mean Albany go further North. These beans did great I have a large garden and placed two early rows and two later rows. By the end of the season I had beans going to everyone including my self for canning. As well as on the ground unfortunatly. They did very well up here some started later than others so I filled in the rows but later they all came in. They also tasted great and canned great here it is Jan. and we are still eating them.

Date published: 2011-01-29

Rated 5 out of
5 by
Grammy from
Best Bush BeansThese beans are full, long, and flavorful. The plants do tend to fall over, but are loaded with beans. I have very sandy soil, and it has been dry this summer. These beans don't seem to care.